SARB criticised for lack of monetary policy creativity beyond inflation targeting

She claims the Reserve Bank has not been creative enough to explore monetary policy tools, other than inflation targeting, to encourage economic growth.

Speaking at the Bank’s Biennial Conference in Cape Town on Friday, Dr Leoka says, “What the SARB did during Covid, taping into the secondary market, is something that can be done a lot more regularly.  We are in an economic crisis of our own because there is no growth, so I think certain tools can be used outside of a global crisis.

“The SARB is often criticised for hiding behind regulations, and I am wondering if the SARB would be able to ease some of the regulation to make it easier to work with National Treasury. So I think there is room now post global crisis, this time being a pandemic, to actually think about monetary policy tools apart from the current one,” she explains.

Meanwhile Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago has hit back at assertions that monetary policy and fiscal policy should be more coordinated.